A quicker way to get to Seattle

From Portland, thirty minutes on a plane is way easier than two and a half hours in a car. It's also less of a burden on the driver, and you don't have to pay attention as much... so long as you make sure you get on the right plane going to the right destination.

I flew up to Seattle yesterday for a quick visit with some Seattlites. Literally, I was there for about three hours. My original plan called for arriving to the Emerald City before lunch time to enjoy lunch with some friends, but alas the non-revenue lifestyle did not abide, and I did not arrive in Seattle until just after 2:00.

I am making a mental note of a couple of things. One, Monday is a tough day for Horizon because everyone wants to leave town that day. Two, not only does Alaska/Horizon oversell flights, but they also let you fly standby no matter what time your flight is. For example, someone with a ticket on an 8:00 pm flight can try to fly out on a noon flight as long as there is room. Third, little planes make like feel like it's going by really fast, in the air or on the ground (Horizon flies Q400s). And finally, for someone in my position, it is far more convenient to fly up to Seattle and rent a car for the day than it is to drive up there; it's probably more convenient for people who don't like spending hours in the car, stuck in traffic, spending money on gas and other driving essentials, with maniacs on the road who cannot drive.

My original plans called for seeing quite a few people and places, but as mentioned before it didn't really work out that way. That's the deal in the world of flying standby. I did get to have a very late lunch with my friend Vicky, who graciously picked me up and dropped me off at SEA-TAC. I briefly saw my friend James as he returned from the gate to the ticket counter. Sadly, I missed the third of my Seattle JetBlue musketeers, as Brendan fell asleep on the couch at the ultrasound appointment with his lovely wife. And again, quite a bummer, did not get to catch up with my lawyer-friend Kate.

Speaking of Kate, I believe the last time I visited the Rainy City was to visit my friend, and she took me to see some of the most wonderful things in all of the world I have ever seen!

Now, I had never heard of this Troll, but if you are from Seattle you should take your friends to see it. The placard describing why there is a troll underneath the Fremont Bridge said it won out in a neighborhood competition, being the top of the four finalists to welcome visitors to the neighborhood. And, Kate reminded me, it is featured in the classic '90s movie, "10 Things I Hate About You."


If you walk down the hill toward the heart of the Fremont District you will find even more wondrous things. Kate had saved this area for me, knowing my love of quirks and originality. She brought me to the largest statue of Lenin in the world! Now, I don't remember why they moved it to the heart of liberal Seattle, but I do know that he is a great landmark, especially for the tourist maps located just below him. We also decided on that day that we needed to start up the Pink Coat Tour Company, as we both managed to wear our pink raincoats.





















I think next time I will have to fly up on SeaPort Airlines. They fly right into Boeing Field, which is conveniently located closer to downtown and right next door to the world's largest cowboy hat and boots. Perhaps I will be able to get there before the end of the year (the big western apparel, not necessarily the Gateway to Alaska). And there is a lot more for me to see in the Fremont area. There was a rocket hanging off the side of a building - decommissioned, but a rocket nonetheless. Plus, it's been a while since I've been to the top of the Spaceneedle, so I should probably go check that out again.